How to Become a Minister in the C.O.G.I.C.

By Lesley Barker ; Updated September 29, 2017

The Church of God In Christ is a Protestant Pentecostal denomination that was founded in 1897 by C.H. Mason in Jackson, Mississippi. By 1907 the denomination boasted 10 churches. By its centennial year, 1997, there were churches on every continent with a combined membership of more than five million Christians. Becoming a minister in the Church of God In Christ is the first step toward ordination as an elder, pastor or bishop.

Request that your local pastor licenses you to preach. This is the first step to ordination. It is a decision made by the pastor of your local congregation because he is likely to have the most intimate knowledge of your character and vocation. Once you have obtained a license to preach you will be known as a minister in the C.O.G.I.C.

Begin the process of obtaining ordination. This is available to licensed ministers in the C.O.G.I.C. who have been recommended by their pastors to the Ordination Committee of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction to which your church belongs. The jurisdictions are organized geographically by states, regions and nations.

Submit your credentials to the ordination committee. You will be expected to be able to prove that your lifestyle is moral. You must also demonstrate that you are spiritually aligned to the values and statement of faith of the denomination. Finally, you have to convince the committee of your loyalty to the church.

Complete an approved course of study in which you will be introduced to the denomination's history, core beliefs and government. A C.O.G.I.C. Ordination Study Guide is available online as a PDF file (see Resources below).

Become recommended by the Ordination Committee to the bishop for ordination. Then, receive ordination by the laying on of the bishop's hands in a public ordination ceremony. A minister of the C.O.G.I.C. who has been licensed to preach by a local pastor can be approved for ordination as an elder, a pastor or a bishop in the church.

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About the Author

Lesley Barker, director of the Bolduc House Museum, authored the books "St. Louis Gateway Rail—The 1970s," published by Arcadia, and the "Eye Can Too! Read" series of vision-related e-books. Her articles have appeared in print and online since the 1980s. Barker holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Washington University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Webster University.